At a time when the post-earthquake reconstruction is going slow, Lutheran World Federation Nepal, an INGO, has shown a way to go

Forty-nine years old
Kale Abrader Sarki of Ward No 9 of Mundan Deupur Municipality, formerly Ward No
3 of Mahadevsthan Village Development Committee, has reason to rejoice. With
support from Lutheran World Federation Nepal, he recently secured a three-room
house, with solar lights and toilets attached on it.

“I am very thankful to Lutheran
World Federation Nepal which handed me a home to live. Otherwise, I didn’t have
any option but to live in a temporary shelter or to take a loan in high
interest. I don’t have any burden now,” said Sarki, who has also contributed a certain
amount in the form of labor.

Supported by Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe Germany, Lutheran World
Federation Nepal, an international humanitarian agency, has been constructing
the houses for socially disadvantaged, marginalized, elderly people and single
women in different parts of earthquake districts. Mundan Deupur Municipality is
one of them where it has been building the houses with its local partner Shanti
Janadarsha Sewa Kendra.

Along with Sarki’s home,
Lutheran World Federation Nepal has already completed 154 others in Mundan
Deupur Municipality. The he agency has already handed over 58 houses in
Baluwapati, Gairibisauna, Jaiisthok, Mahadevsthan and Nayagaun.

Out of 387 houses Lutheran
World Federation Nepal got to build in this municipality, 9 are at the stage of
excavation, 55 are at the stage of lintel, 118 are in the final stage with roof,
17 sill, 7 stitches, 4 foundations and 17 plinths. Out of them 5 houses are yet
to start and 1 building is yet to clear the site.

The houses are built
with the criteria and conditions set by NRA. Lutheran World Federation Nepal is
closely working under the guidelines of NRA in other districts as well.

At a time when NRA is
yet to distribute the second installment of money, Lutheran has already handed
over the majority of houses to the beneficiaries showing effective ways to implement
in the reconstruction drive.

Like Sarki, many
earthquake victims in Mundan Deupur Municipality, who had signed agreements
with Lutheran, are in the process of moving to their homes before the Dashain
or coming winter.

Lutheran and its local
partners provide all supervision and technical support to the construction of
houses as part of building back better.

Manisha Mijar, 19,
another Dalit of the Mundan Deupur Municipality, is busy to paint her
three-room house, which is at the final stage when this scribe visited it on
August 27.

“For someone having
lived for almost three years in the temporary shelter with limited space, this
new house gives me and my family full space as well as solar lights and
toilet,” said Mijar, a student of class 12. “This is really great.”

There are three NRA
approved modalities of the houses in this area as constructed by Lutheran World
Federation Nepal. Along with 300.000.000 as per the agreement; beneficiaries
have to bear the remaining cost of the houses. Lutheran World Federation Nepal,
however, bears the training cost for masons under the build back better program.

The first building with
two small rooms for elderly and single women costs Rs. 412,000.00.
Similarly, another two-room model with wider space costs Rs. 537,000.00 and three rooms Rs. 642,000.00.

“Federation has been
constructing the houses under the approval of NRA and the beneficiaries are NRA
enlisted people,” said Nibha Shrestha, its governance and regional program coordinator.

Along with the houses
in Kavrepalanchwok, the Federation has already handed over 151 houses in Rasuwa
district. Out of 47528 reconstructed houses, INGOs contribution is more than
3000.

According to the
website of Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, INGOs are far
ahead in terms of completion of the houses. At a time when there are a lot of
public criticisms about the role of INGOs and NGOs, the reality is different.
Lutheran World Federation Nepal has shown how effectively an organization can
work in reconstruction.